"Winged dragonspawn?" Lek asked in a skeptical tone. "I thought you had come to warn the council about a serious threat, not to waste our time with outlandish fairytales of nonexistent creatures." He glanced at his fellow councilmen. "This girl is obviously disturbed." He sniffed in a condescending tone. "She was probably just frightened by a lizard, and has embellished her story to the point where it has now become winged dragonspawn."
"I know what I saw," Leia growled, glaring at the arrogant young tribesman with dangerous eyes. "and it wasn't just a lizard. These beasts stood two foot taller than any of the other dragonspawn, with dark green scales, and wings similar to a bat." She looked at the other councilmen with a serious expression. "Trust me when I say that you need to prepare your people. The Dragon God is gathering the dragonspawn for war."
"War with who?" Fathre asked worriedly.
"Everyone." Sly told them grimly. "Every country. Every continent. Every race. When the dragonspawn finally strike out, no one will be safe."
The council stared at Leia and Sly in stunned silence.
"I don't believe a single word of this nonsense." Lek sniffed dismissively. "Either this girl's imagination has just gotten the best of her, or she is disturbed."
"Watch what you say, Lek." Bativa warned the arrogant young tribesman. "That is the daughter of the Dragon Lord that you are speaking to."
"I do not care who this urchin's father is. She is wasting our time with her ridiculous stories, and I, for one, am tired of listening to her fairy tales." He sneered down at Leia. "I think that you are disturbed, perhaps even mad. It's possible that the attack that polluted your father's blood has had some unexpected effects on your mind."
"Oh no." Sly groaned in dread.
Leia stared at the sneering tribesman in fury for several long moments, then her eyes suddenly narrowed, and she made a small gesture with one hand.
The councilmen all gasped in astonishment and disbelief as Lek suddenly vanished from his seat. An instant later, a scream of pure agony drew their attention to the rafters above, where the arrogant young tribesman had suddenly reappeared dangling in the insubstantial air above the council by an invisible force which held him firmly by his ears. He squealed in pain as he thrashed against the invisible force, trying desperately to free his ears, which were stretching to an almost absurd length. The other councilmen watched dumbfounded as he continued to dangle helplessly above their heads, kicking at the air ineffectually as he began to sob in agony.
"Leia!" Sly barked in a firm tone. "Put him down!"
"No!" The young girl told him in a equally firm tone. "I've had about enough of this!" She made an imperious gesture, and the dangling tribesman slowly descended until he was hanging a few feet above the floor. "I want you to listen closely, Lek of the Nacetre clan," She growled in a deadly voice. "My family has worked hard to do everything that we can to protect the people of the south, including the Deolan people. I'll not stand here and allow you to insult me, or my father, any longer."
"Leia!" Sly barked again, stepping forward to place a hand on her shoulder.
The young girl ignored him and continued to watch the tribesman struggle against the invisible force. "I think I should make an example of you." She growled in a furious voice. "How would you enjoy spending the rest of your pathetic little life as a carrot?"
"Leia," Bativa started, his expression both amused and concerned. "I know that Lek can be an insufferable ass, but he is a member of the Deolan Council. It would be inconvenient if you turned him into a carrot."
"Radish it is, then."
The huge chieftain chuckled. "No, I'm afraid we need him just as he is. Would you release him, please? As a favor to me?"
Leia stared at Lek for another long moment, her expression slowly softening. The tattooed tribesman was no longer screaming or kicking. He now hung limply a few feet off of the ground, and looked as though he were on the verge of lapsing into unconsciousness. She finally sighed, then made a nonchalant gesture with one hand, allowing the tribesman to crash to the floor.
"I think that it would be best if we adjoined for the rest of the day so we may contemplate the enormity of what we have heard." Bativa suggested as Lek was helped back to his chair by a couple of his fellow councilmen. "If there is no objection, we'll reconvene tomorrow morning." He looked around the room at the other councilmen, who looked as though they were all ready to get away from the young girl as quickly as possible. "Tomorrow it is, then." He gestured for Sly and Leia to follow him, then hurried from the council room.
"What do you think you were doing back there?" The huge tribesman demanded as he led them back towards his private quarters. "You can't just dangle a member of the Deolan Council by his ears and expect to walk away unharmed!"
"I just did, didn't I?" Leia asked, still seething from the Lek's insults. "I wasn't going to just stand there and allow him to say such vile things about me and my father!"
"I know that he was a bit out of line," The huge chieftain said in a mollifying tone. "but that was a little extreme. Dangling a man by his ears?" He shuddered. "I can't imagine how much that must have hurt!"
Leia stopped in her tracks. "A bit out of line? He said that my polluted blood was making me mad, and that I was spinning fairytales for the council." She made a furious noise. "He's lucky I didn't decide to dangle him from a more sensitive part of his anatomy!"
Both Sly and Bativa winced in imagined pain.
"You wasn't really going to turn him into a carrot, were you?" Bativa asked disapprovingly.
"I was thinking about it." Leia answered truthfully. "I don't think that I have ever been more insulted in my entire life! I really wanted to make him regret his words!"
"I think you did that and more." Bativa sighed wearily. "What do you think you father would say if he had witnessed your actions?"
"What would my father, the man who blasted Lek's father, Krel, across the council room during their first meeting, and then later gave him boils on his backside, have to say about my dangling Lek by his ears?" Leia gave the huge tribesman a pointed look. "Do you really want me to answer that?" She turned and looked at Sly, who was shaking his head in resignation. "What?" She demanded crossly.
"You are exactly like your father." Sly sighed wearily. "You can't go anywhere without making an enemy."
"You're going to have to take extra precautions now to make sure that Lek doesn't attempt to take his revenge." Bativa warned her in a knowing tone. "He's not likely to take this lying down."
"You don't think he'd be foolish enough to try something, do you?" Sly asked with a worried expression. "Leia is the daughter of the Dragon Lord! Lek would have to be a complete idiot to try anything!"
"Lek is a complete idiot." The big tribesman told them with a frown. "And he is almost certain to try something. Leia has humiliated him twice now. Once word gets around about she dangled him by his ears above the rest of the council, he'll never be able to show his face in Mercedia again without having the people laugh in his face. There is little chance that he is going to let that stand."
"I'm not concerned." Leia shrugged dismissively.
"You should be." Bativa told her seriously. "Lek may be an insufferable ass, but he is the Clan Chief of the Nacetre tribe. Once his warriors catch wind of what happened, every single one of them will be looking to make you pay for disrespecting their chieftain."
Leia frowned. "I hadn't considered how his tribesmen may feel about my teaching Lek a lesson." She shrugged again. "If they try to give us any problems, I'll just dangle them by their ears for a few minutes too. I'm sure they'll eventually get the point."
"Exactly like your father." Sly repeated with another sigh.
They spent the remainder of the day relaxing comfortably in Bativa's lavish apartments, then had a restful night's sleep. They returned to the council room the following morning after another lavish breakfast, and a long lecture from both Bativa and Sly.
"I'm begging you," Sly pleaded with Leia as th
ey made their way up the enormous spiral stairs that led to the council room. "try to be a little more diplomatic with the council. I know that some of them are a bit difficult to deal with, but we can't afford to have any more problems with them. It would be disastrous for Sevria if the Deola decide to refuse to do business with us anymore!"
"That will never happen." Bativa assured him. "We send and receive thousands of caravans through the mountains every year, and Sevria is the only safe haven that they can stop. The council would never do anything as foolish as severing ties."
"That's reassuring," Sly breathed in relief, then he looked back to Leia. "but that doesn't mean that you can dangle the rest of the council by their ears. Keep your temper in check, young lady."
"I'll do my best," Leia sighed with a note of doubt in her tone. "but I'm not going to promise anything. I can only take so many spiteful comments before I begin to see red. If Lek starts running his mouth again, he may just find himself dangling from the battlements this time."
"I doubt that Lek will continue to treat you with such disrespect." Bativa chuckled reassuringly. "Even he isn't that dim-witted."
They finally reached the top of the stairs and emerged into the council room, where they were immediately greeted by Lek's bellows of indignation.
"That little beast has the gall to return to the scene of her crime?" The arrogant young councilman asked in outraged disbelief. "I demand that filthy little creature be seized at once!"
The young tribesman appeared to have somewhat recovered from the previous day's altercation, and was once again sitting in his traditional place among the council, though his face was unusually pale, and his ears were now an ugly shade of purple-black. They also appeared to have stretched to amazing proportions after being forced to bear his heavy weight, and now were hanging limply from the sides of his head.
"Not that dim-witted, eh?" Leia asked Bativa in exasperated amusement as Lek jumped up from his seat in fury, causing his absurdly long ears to flop up and down unpleasantly.
"Sit down, Lek!" Bativa told the arrogant young tribesman in a harsh tone. "You were warned that your insolence would not be tolerated, yet you continued to berate Leia, and insult her father! You got what you deserved!"
"I..." Lek started, but was immediately silenced by the other councilmen.
"Enough!" Wathre roared at the arrogant young tribesman.
"It was your own mouth that got you into trouble, Lek!" Suscep stated in a disgusted tone. "You have no one to blame for your humiliation but yourself!"
"I am a member of the Deolan Council!" Lek snarled at his fellow councilmen. "I expect to be treated with the respect that I deserve!"
"You were." Gredee told him bluntly. "Your obnoxious behavior toward honored friends of the council was disgraceful, and I, for one, believe you got exactly what you deserved."
"I agree," Druta murmured with an unhappy expression. "As a member of the Deolan Council, you are expected to comport yourself with dignity, not act like a petulant child." He gave Lek a disgusted look. "Even your father had enough sense to know when to keep his mouth shut. Now keep quiet so the council can get business started."
Lek stared at the other councilmen angrily for several moments, then, after casting one last hateful glare at Leia, he dropped back into his chair with a sulky expression.
The councilmen all continued to stare at him sternly for a moment, then Druta turned towards Leia. "Please accept the apologies of the council, Lady Leia. Some of us," He gave Lek another stern look. "have not yet fully grasped what is expected of them when they become a member of the council. To act in such a manner to a visiting dignitary, one who was delivering vital news, no less, is unforgivable. Please rest assured that you will face no repercussions from the council."
"What?" Lek looked even more outraged. "I demand..."
"Shut it!" Wathre bellowed, causing Lek to flinch back in his chair. "You have disgraced us all with your behavior! You're just lucky that it was Lady Leia, and not her father, who you insulted! If it had been the Dragon Lord, you'd probably be little more than a smear on the council room floor right now!"
Lek let out a snarl of frustrated anger, then fell into a seething silence.
"As I was saying," Druta continued, casting Lek another dark look. "You can rest assured that you will face no repercussions from the council."
"That's good to know." Leia nodded, ignoring the grunt of disgust from Lek. "Now that is settled, we can continue our business."
"Yes," Bativa agreed with a look of relief. "Let us return to the subject of the dragonspawn. Something must be done to stop this war that they are planning."
"Got any suggestions?" Sly asked blandly.
"Can't the Dragon Lord just order his dragons to stop them?" Gredee asked with a note of concern in his voice.
"My father is not here," Leia reminded him. "and you know his aversion to forcing his will upon the scarlet dragons. Besides, I doubt if it would do any good. If the Dragon God is planning on using the dreadspawn to distract the dragons while the dragonspawn launch their attacks, then there must be a lot of them. Too many for the dragons to handle alone."
"Well, something has to be done." Bativa murmured grimly. "My warriors are running themselves ragged trying to keep the wretched beasts at bay."
"Why doesn't the Lady Leia just eliminate the beasts?" Lek asked in a spiteful tone, staring at the young girl hatefully. "She has already shown that she has powers similar to her father. Why doesn't she focus that power upon the spawn?" His upper lip curled back in a sneer. "That is, of course, if she isn't too frightened."
"You would have a child fight your battles for you, Lek?" Cinte scowled at the arrogant young man. "And you call yourself a Deolan warrior?"
"You gentlemen said it yourselves," Lek murmured, refusing to tear his gaze from Leia. "She is the daughter of the Dragon Lord, and the Princess of Dragons. She has the blood of dragons in her veins. Considering the dragonspawn are her kin, I think that she should be the one that attempts to stops them." He gave her a malicious smile.
"You just don't know when to shut up, do you?" Gredee sighed, rolling his eyes towards the ceiling. "Didn't you learn anything from being dangled by your ears?
"But he does bring up a valid point." Thenke murmured, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Lady Leia does have dragon's blood in her veins, just like her father, and she has powers similar to the Dragon Lord. She would be far more suited to combating the dragonspawn than our warriors."
"Out of the question." Sly stated flatly. "Leia already has her own responsibilities with protecting the citizens of Sevria. Besides, she's only ten years old. She's not old enough to go to war with the dragonspawn."
"Twelve." Leia corrected him primly.
"The point is," Sly continued, ignoring the young girl. "It was Leia's job to alert the council to the danger that the dragonspawn present, which she has done. Her job is finished here. It is now up to the Deolan Council on how their people are to proceed."
"Surely you do not plan to abandon us altogether?" Cinte asked worriedly.
"Of course not," Leia reassured him. "but we have very little to go on right now. Until we can get a better grasp of what the spawn are planning, there's really no way to devise a strategy. We'll continue to try and discover what we can, but I'd suggest that you prepare your people for any eventuality."
"I really wish your father were here." Bativa muttered worriedly. "He has more experience with deciphering what the Dragon God may be planning than all of us combined."
"Where is the Dragon Lord, anyway?" Lek asked in irritation. "Shouldn't he be here dealing with these foul creatures?"
"He has been called away, and won't return for some time." Sly told him shortly.
"That's what you said, but you neglected to say where he was called to."
"What does it matter?" Wathre demanded in exasperation.
"It matters because it seems strange that the Dragon Lord would be called away at the exact same time t
hat the dragonspawn start causing problems." Lek told him suspiciously.
"What are you suggesting?" Sly asked, his expression growing angry.
"I'm suggesting that the Dragon Lord himself may be behind the dragonspawn gathering for war. We all know that he has a pet shadowspawn that follows him around like a puppy. How do we know that he isn't behind this uprising?" The arrogant young tribesman stared at Leia expectantly. "Well? Where is the Dragon Lord?"
"That is none of your concern." Leia told him shortly. "It's suffice to say that he is unavailable to help at this moment, and it'll be some time before he will be in a position where he can."
"If you refuse to reveal the Dragon Lord's whereabouts, then how are we to believe you when you say that he is not behind the dragonspawn readying themselves for war?" The arrogant young tribesman asked in a triumphant tone.
Sly stared at Lek for several long moments, then turned to Leia. "I was wrong. Go ahead and dangle him from the battlements."
"You wouldn't dare!" Lek quickly scrambled behind his chair.
"I think we have had enough of the insults and baseless accusations." Leia told the other councilmen coldly as Lek's head popped out from behind his chair. "I think it would be best if we took our leave now, before I do something that I will regret. I'll return as soon as we learn something more." She stared at Lek for a long moment, her eyes blazing with anger, then, without waiting for a response from the council, she turned and quickly made her way from the room.
They followed a Deolan soldier back to Bativa's lavish apartments and waited for the huge chieftain to return. He finally appeared later that evening wearing a frustrated expression.
"I'm guessing that things didn't go well after we left." Sly commented, noticing the irritated look on the huge tribesman's face.
Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) Page 29